


I Think My Little Sister's In Love With You

by flowercrownclem



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Muke - Freeform, guitar teacher luke, idk i haven't planned past the first 3 chapters or so, it's cute, maybe cashton later?, michael dyes his hair a lot, michael has a little sister named katie, michael is in 5sos but luke isn't, there's a lot of blushing, yet?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6613258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowercrownclem/pseuds/flowercrownclem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke teaches guitar to kids and one of his young students might be kind of in love with him. When her older brother picks her up from her lesson one day he might fall a little bit in love with Luke too, and Luke falls a little in love back.<br/>AU where Michael has a little sister and Luke is teaching her guitar</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Luke loved his job, if you could even really call it a job. After school every day from 3-6 he volunteered at a local community center, teaching music to younger kids. The groups of kids rotated every day, so that some days he’d be working with elementary school kids and other days he’s have middle schoolers. With some of the really young kids he often felt more like a babysitter than an instructor, but there were always a few kids who really seemed to have an interest in music, no matter what age.  
One such kid came in every Tuesday with a group of 6 and 7 year olds and would always run straight to Luke, demanding to sit in his lap and tell him about her week. He was always incredibly endeared by her excited recounts of mundane events and odd details that she had deemed “extra super important.” He knew he shouldn’t be picking favorites, but when some kids really took a liking to you it was hard not to.  
“Luke!” came a high-pitched cry one Tuesday afternoon. Luke braced himself as he was suddenly hit by an arm-full of screaming 6 year old girl.  
“Hi, Katie,” he smiled, settling her more comfortably against his side with one arm wrapped around to hold her up.  
“Hi!” she exclaimed loudly in his ear. “Luke, guess what!”  
“What?” he asked, setting her down to finish setting up the guitars and drumkits for the kids to play on.  
“My brother’s picking me up today!” She hopped around excitedly, chasing after him as he moved equipment.  
“That’s awesome,” Luke told her, plugging in amps. “What’s your brother’s name?”  
“His name is Michael and he’s 17 years old and he plays guitar like you and he's in a band!”  
“How come he’s picking you up today?”  
“Because my mommy has to work late so she said he’s going to pick me up today and then on the way home we get to go grocery shopping all on our own!”  
“Wow, you’re so grown up,” Luke laughed, ruffling her messy blonde hair. “I don’t even go grocery shopping without my mom.”  
“But you’re old!” Katie cried incredulously.  
“I’m not that old,” Luke told her. “I’m only 16, that’s younger than your brother.”  
“That’s old,” she said stubbornly.  
“Okay, fine,” Luke grinned. “I’m old. Now how ‘bout you show me the pattern I taught you last week?”  
Before long Luke was immersed in his lessons, correcting one girl’s fingers and reminding one boy how to properly strum his guitar. He held his own guitar comfortably against his chest and watched the kids play. Their fingers were clumsy and their brows furrowed, but he was proud to see how far they’d all come since he started working with them. He could feel the fond smile on his face that only grew when he felt a little body attach itself to his back.  
“Luke,” Katie giggled, climbing to hang off of his shoulders with her feet dangling just off the ground.  
“Hey,” Luke laughed, “I thought I told you to practice your guitar.”  
“I did!” Katie insisted. “I’ve been practicing for forever!”  
“Fine, time is almost up anyway,” Luke conceded, turning to the rest of the group. “Time to pack up, guys. Great job today! I think you’ll all be pros in no time.”  
“You really think so, Mr. Luke?” one little boy tugged timidly at Luke’s sleeve.  
“Of course, Murray,” Luke smiled, feeling his heart melt when he saw the boy’s face light up. The boy ran off to his mother at the entrance, giving Luke a happy wave as he left. Luke shook his head fondly, going to work coiling cords and stacking amps, Katie still hanging from his shoulders like a monkey. One thing he loved about working at the center was that no matter how he felt when he got there, he always felt completely at ease by the end of the day. He didn’t have many friends at school and was usually pretty quiet, but with the kids none of that mattered. All they cared about was that you gave them your attention and occasionally brought in treats. With kids there were no conditions for their love and it didn’t take much for them to look up to you. Luke loved to see the amazement in their eyes when he’d show them some trick on guitar or play them a new song he’d learned. It was nice to feel loved by someone, even if it was by a room full of 7 year olds.  
“Katie?” Luke heard a boy’s voice call from the entrance of the community center.  
“Mikey!” Katie screamed, dropping to the ground to run across the room to the boy who caught her mid-air and swung her around to land securely on his back.  
“How was your lesson, kid?” he asked, glancing around at the few kids still running around.  
“Luke taught me how to play Blink-182,” she told him proudly.  
“Really?” Michael asked, looking impressed.  
“We only started,” Luke called from where he was still wrapping up cords. “Next week we’ll work on it some more.”  
“I’m sure you’ll be giving Matt Skiba a run for his money before long,” Michael promised her.  
“I think you’re right,” Luke said, grabbing an amp and standing up, finally looking fully at Katie’s older brother. At first all he noticed was blue hair that had visibly faded by a couple of weeks, but then all he could see was green eyes and pink lips and Luke felt his breath catch in his throat.  
“I’m guessing you’re Luke,” Michael smiled.  
“You guessed correctly,” Luke ducked his head shyly, feeling his cheeks heat up.  
“Katie was right about your eyes,” Michael mused.  
“Hm?” Luke cocked his head to the side.  
Now was Michael’s turn to blush, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair self-consciously. “Oh, uh, she, like, talks about you a lot, and she said your eyes were really blue, and I, like, I let her pick my hair color when I dye it and last time she said to do ‘blue like Luke’s eyes’ and I didn’t really have a point of reference so I tried to guess, but, um, I think I got pretty close.”  
“It looks nice,” Luke told him, shifting nervously on his feet.  
“Thanks,” Michael said. “It's fading, though. I've got to re-dye it soon.”  
“Mikey,” Katie whispered conspiratorially over his shoulder.  
“Yeah, bug?” he grinned, matching her tone.  
“Could we get some dye right now when we get the groceries?”  
“Did you decide what you want the next color to be?”  
“Yeah,” Katie nodded, her eyes still fixed on Luke.  
“You'll have to let me know how it turns out,” Luke said, setting an amp next the the storage room to be put away.  
“Hey, you weren't ‘sposed to hear!” Katie insisted. “We were whispering!”  
“It was very loud whispering,” Luke told her, laughing.  
“Mikey, you should pick me up next week too so Luke can see your hair,” Katie said.  
“I think we could make that work,” Michael mused. “As long as you promise to practice your guitar every day.”  
“I always practice,” Katie scoffed.  
“I know,” Michael replied, directing his gaze back to Luke. “I still don't get how you've gotten her to actually learn guitar. I've been trying to teach her since the day she was born but she always refused until she started coming here.”  
“That's cause I like Luke better than you,” Katie said matter-of-factly.  
“I don't blame her,” Michael winked, suddenly spinning on his heel to Katie’s delight and rushing towards the door. “See you next week!” he called over Katie’s giggling.  
“See you,” Luke breathed, slumping against the wall as he watched what he was sure was the boy of his dreams waltz out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got the first 2.5 chapters written for this already but I'll keep writing it if people like it. I'm not really sure what's going to happen past that though so it may be like 4 chapters or it may be 10, I don't know. If there's anything that you'd like to see happen feel free to comment :)  
> This is my first Muke fic so hopefully it's okay so far.


	2. Chapter 2

“C’mon, Mikey!” Katie demanded, dragging Michael down to aisle to the brighter colored hair dye by the hand.  
“Woah, slow down,” Michael laughed, trying not to trip as he ran doubled over. “What color are we getting?”  
“It’s a surprise,” Katie insisted. “You’re not allowed to know till it’s done.”  
“That might be sort of tough considering it’s my hair and I’ve got to dye it- plus I’ve got to buy the dye in the first place,” Michael explained with a smile, crouching down in front of the hair dye to be on her level.  
“Hmm,” Katie scrunched up her face, mulling it over before nodding decidedly. “Okay. You can know. But only cause of all that stuff you said before.”  
“Deal,” Michael agreed, holding out his hand to shake hers. “Now what color are we looking for?”  
“Pink!” Katie declared.  
“Pink?” Michael asked. “What kind of pink?”  
“Like Luke’s cheeks when you talked to him today.”  
“I should’ve known it’d be another color from the Luke palette,” Michael rolled his eyes fondly. “You know not everyone has a cool older brother who let’s them choose his hair color. How come you never pick colors from me?”  
“This one’s from you, too!” Katie pointed out. “Your cheeks turned the same color when he talked to you.”  
“They did not!” Michael argued.  
“Did too!” Katie replied, sticking her tongue out at him.  
“Did not!” Michael stuck his tongue out back.  
“Did too!” Katie insisted. “You were all blushy cause you like him and you wanna marry him but you’re too late cause I’m already gonna marry him so you can’t!”  
“Woah woah woah!” Michael laughed. “Since when are you and Luke getting married? Isn’t he supposed to ask for my blessing before he goes around asking for your hand?”  
“Well, I haven’t told him we we’re getting married yet,” Katie frowned. “But I think he’d say yes.”  
“I’m sure he would, kid,” Michael grinned, ruffling her hair and turning to the shelves beside them. “Now what shade of pink would you say Luke’s cheeks were?”  
“This one!” Katie grabbed a bottle of cotton candy colored dye, holding it tightly to her chest.

The following Tuesday Luke felt almost anxious all through the lesson. It didn’t help that Katie was practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. It was all Luke could do just to get her to sit down with a guitar.  
“Remember what Michael told you last week,” Luke told her. “He said he’d only pick you up more often if you practiced your guitar.”  
Katie huffed out a breath but soon she was strumming along with the other kids.  
Before long it was time for the kids to be picked up and Luke tried his best to distract himself with packing up. He was just hanging the last guitar up when he heard a familiarly swoon-worthy voice from behind him.  
“Hey,” Michael greeted, leaning casually against the doorway of the storage room. Luke quickly spun around and took in the boy before him, a smile tugging at his lips. Michael’s hair was now a light pink, perfectly complementing his pale skin and contrasting the green in his eyes.  
“Hey,” Luke breathed out in response. After a moment of the two boys just looking at each other, Luke asked, “So what was the color inspiration for this one?”  
Katie, appearing at Michael’s side, opened her mouth to speak but Michael was quick to cover her mouth with his hand before she could.  
“Bubble gum,” he said sternly, giving her a pointed look. “Katie loves bubble gum.”  
“Well, I think you did a good job matching it,” Luke told him, a little confused about the siblings’ exchange.  
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Michael said, releasing Katie’s mouth and pifting her up to settle of his hip. “Do you ever babysit?”  
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Luke nodded. “I used to babysit a lot a couple years ago. I still do it every once in awhile if someone needs one.”  
“Okay, awesome,” Michael grinned. “Are you free on Friday?”  
“I think so, does Katie need a babysitter?”  
“Well, my band’s got this gig downtown and I wanted to see-”  
“If I could watch her for you so you could go play your show and stuff?”  
“Actually, if you could come keep an eye on her at the show,” Michael corrected. “She loves coming to see us play but it’s hard to watch her while we’re on stage so if you wouldn’t mind coming with us and you’d just have to stay with her during our set.”  
“I’d love to,” Luke said, unable to contain his grin.  
“Awesome,” Michael smiled back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. “Here, I’ve got one of the flyers we printed up with the time and place and stuff. Do you need a ride to get there, or...?”  
“I think I can get a ride over there from my mom, but I’m not sure if she’d want to pick me up if it goes late...”  
“We can give you a ride home!” Michael offered almost too eagerly. His face started to heat up and he stepped back, trying to look nonchalant. “I mean, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve got a car, so... Yeah.”  
Katie looked discerningly at Michael, her head tilting in concentration, before giving Luke the same treatment.  
“Your hair’s too light,” she informed her brother. “It needs to be darker if it’s gonna match.”  
“What?” Luke asked, his brow furrowing.  
“We’ll see you on Friday!” Michael called, pulling Katie towards the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Luke was freaking out. His mom had just dropped him off outside of a small all-ages venue and as he walked towards the entrance his mind was reeling with second thoughts and insecurities. As soon as he spotted Katie standing on top of a table though, all of that flew out the window.

“Luke!” she screamed, clumsily trying to climb to the ground.

“Woah! Hold on a second, kid.” Michael swooped in to catch her around the waist, swinging her through the air and glancing back to grin at Luke. “Glad you could make it!”

“Hi,” Luke gave a small wave, shifting on his feet and watching Michael weave between people to make his way over to Luke.

“You’re just in time, I’ve got to go set up in just a second,” Michael told him, gratefully handing over his little sister.

“No problem,” Luke smiled, letting Katie climb up his shoulders, leaning forward and giggling when she draped herself over his neck like a snake. “Good luck on stage.”

“Thanks,” Michael said, giving Luke’s arm a quick squeeze before darting towards the stage. Luke sighed as he watched him go, his face melting into that of a lovesick middle schooler.

“Stop,” Katie told him sourly.

“Stop what?” Luke asked, taken aback.

“Stop looking at Michael like that,” she frowned. “You’re looking at him like in the Disney movies when the prince meets the princess and you’re supposed to be looking at me like that because we’re gonna get married.”

“Oh are we?” Luke laughed, setting her on his hip to look her straight on. “I don’t think I was consulted on that, was I?”

“Well,” she conceded, “not directly. I told Michael and he said you’d say yes.”

“Did he now?” Luke asked, grinning as he searched out the boy on stage and shaking his head fondly when he saw him. “Well, we might have to wait till you’re a little older for a wedding.”

“Hey guys,” one of Michael’s bandmates said into his microphone. “We are 5 Seconds of Summer, and if you don’t mind, we’re gonna play a few songs for you.”

The teenagers in the crowd all made their way to stand in front of the stage, looking like they were getting ready for something big. Luke kept Katie off to the side but lifted her up to sit on his shoulders, giving her the best seat in the house. From the stage Michael watched them affectionately as he began to play their first song.

“Even when the sky is falling down, even when Earth is crumbling ‘round my feet,” Calum sang beside him, Michael joining in for the next lines.

“Even when we try to say goodbye, and you can cut the tension with a knife in here,” Michael smiled when he saw the look of entrancement that had taken over Luke’s face and continued to sing, holding his gaze. “Cause I know what’ll happen if we get through this.”

As the song broke into the chorus, the crowd began to dance, hopping around and hinting at the thrashing that would happen later in the night. When Katie began to squirm on his shoulders, Luke reached up to let her down. Immediately she was wiggling from foot to foot and swiveling her little hips. Luke crouched down to join her, dancing in a way rarely seen outside of a white dad barbeque.

Michael spent the entirety of their set watching the pair, much the the amusement of his bandmates. When a small mosh pit formed in the center of the crowd, he watched as Luke and Katie chased each other in a tight circle, making their own little version of one. By the end of their set Luke was sitting cross legged and exhausted on one of the tables against the wall with Katie sitting in his lap. They both clapped and cheered when Michael and the rest of the band finished the last song and made their way off stage.

“That was awesome,” Luke grinned when Michael came to stand next to his and Katie’s table, getting a high five from his little sister.

“You must be Luke,” Calum said, coming up behind Michael and slinging an arm over his friend’s shoulder.

“Hi,” Luke said, looking curiously between the dark haired boy and Michael, who was shooting daggers at his friend.

“I’m Calum and this is Ashton,” Calum said, gesturing to the curly haired drummer beside him. “And you already know my very best friend Michael Clifford right here. He really is just the greatest, you know.”

“Calum,” Michael frowned, warningly.

“He’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, I guarantee! Plus he’s got great taste in music, and he’s just dreamy. If I’d realised I liked dick before I met Ashton I would have been  _ all _ over that, I can-”

“Calum!” Michael cut through, his face turning beet red.

“Yes?” Calum asked, feigning innocence.

“Would you kindly-” Michael paused, reaching over to cup his hands over Katie’s ears. “Would you kindly  _ fuck off _ ?”

“I was just making sure that Luke knew how-”

“Calum,” Ashton said, tugging on his boyfriend’s hand. “We should probably get going.”

“Fine,” Calum agreed, sighing dramatically. He allowed himself to be pulled away but not before shouting, “I bet he’d be a firm yet gentle lover!”

“Cal! There’s kids around!” Ashton chastised, finally succeeding in dragging him away from the table.

“I hate my friends,” Michael groaned, falling into a chair and resting his head on the table next to Luke’s leg.

“They seem nice,” Luke told him amusedly.

“They suck,” Michael said, looking up.

“You suck,” Katie giggled sleepily. She climbed off of Luke’s lap to sit on Michael’s, her eyelids visibly drooping.

“We should probably get you home, huh?” Michael asked her softly, holding her against his chest. Luke looked fondly at the siblings, feeling jealous of the younger one.

Michael stood up, letting Katie’s head drop onto his shoulder, and looked to Luke.

“I’ve just got to pack up my gear. Do you think you could take her for a minute?” Michael looked torn, glancing down at his sister who was already close to sleep.

“No need,” Calum called from the entrance. “Ash and I already loaded all your shit in your car.”

“Thanks,” Michael sent him a grateful smile.

“Anytime, man,” Calum grinned back. “See you soon, Luke!”

Michael lead Luke out to his car, gently buckling Katie into her carseat in the back while Luke watched sleepily.

“Thanks for watching her tonight,” Michael said quietly once they’d started driving.

“I don’t mind,” Luke told him, setting back into his seat and resting his head back to gaze at Michael beside him. “Tonight was really fun.”

“Yeah, it was,” Michael smiled, glancing over at Luke. Michael was about to ask where he should drop Luke off when he saw Luke’s eyes flutter shut.

When he’d arrived at his own home Michael quietly got out of the car and took Katie out of her carseat, murmuring a soft “shh,” when she started to wake. He quickly brought her inside and put her to bed, rushing back out to the car where Luke was still sleeping peacefully. He gave himself a moment to take in the boy beside him, the way he curled around himself in the seat and the little breaths that escaped his slightly parted lips.

“Luke,” Michael whispered, brushing the back of his knuckle across the other boy’s cheek. He nearly cooed when Luke’s nose scrunched up as he tried to burrow further back into the seat. Michael moved his hand up to sweep his fingers through Luke’s hair, pushing it back off his forehead and revealing two blearily blinking eyes.

“Mikey?” Luke asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

“Hey,” Michael smiled, still playing lightly playing with Luke’s hair. “Sorry to wake you but I don’t know where you live.”

“Oh,” Luke blushed, sitting up slightly and rattling off his address. Luke watched the darkened surroundings blur past as they drove towards his house and he realized that they were taking a longer route to get there. He wasn't sure if it was because Michael didn't know the shorter way or if he'd chosen the long way on purpose, but he hoped it was the latter.

“Katie’s a good kid,” he told Michael languidly, returning to his curled up position. 

“Yeah,” Michael agreed before his smile turned into a smirk. “She's in love with you though.”

“I know,” Luke giggled. “She told me earlier about the wedding you approved of.”

“And?” Michael laughed. “Did you accept her offer?”

“I told her we may have to wait until she's older,” Luke said. “She's gonna be disappointed when she finds out I'd rather have a prince than a princess.”

“She took it fine when I told her,” Michael said, trying to hold in his triumphant grin at the information. “It was just when she had to cancel her wedding to Calum and then to Ashton that she started getting frustrated.”

“Understandably so,” Luke said sympathetically. “Maybe your sister needs to start looking for fiancés her own age, though.”

“Oh, trust me, she's got those too,” Michael grinned. “I think my sister would be breaking a lot of hearts if any of them actually knew they were engaged to her.”

“She's a romantic,” Luke said. “I think it's cute.”

_ I think  _ you're _ cute,  _ Michael wanted to say. Instead he busied himself with watching for the turn onto Luke's street.

“Right up here,” Luke told him, pointing out the street.

When Michael pulled in front of Luke's house they both sat for a moment in silence, not wanting to part just yet. 

“Thank you,” Luke said softly. “For driving me home.”

“Thanks again for watching Katie,” Michael countered. 

“I told you, it's no trouble,” Luke smiled. “Honestly if you ever need a babysitter I’d love to help out.”

“And I know Katie would love to see you more,” Michael agreed, “even if the wedding doesn't happen.”

“Here,” Luke said, pulling out his phone. “I'll give you my number so if you ever need someone to watch her you can give me a call.”

“That'd be great,” Michael pulled out his own phone and opened a new contact. “But what if Katie doesn't need a babysitter?”

“What do you mean?” Luke asked. 

“I mean, can I still call you if it's not about my little sister?”

“Oh,” Luke said, his lips turning up into a grin. “I think that'd be okay too.”

“Cool,” Michael nodded, both of them turning as pink as his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't know what's gonna happen next so if you have any suggestions or requests feel free to comment, or you can message me on tumblr. I'm moz-direction :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A first I was worried this chapter would just turn into filler but then things happened and I think it's really cute? Hopefully you do too.  
> Also, thank you so much to everyone that's commented and/or left kudos on this story. You guys are the sweetest ily ❤️

By the time Luke stumbled into his room he was dead on his feet, falling asleep as soon as he fell into bed and dreaming vividly of sparkling green eyes and plush red lips. He spent the next 4 days restless and eager to see Michael again after Katie’s guitar lesson. He had received and replied to a few texts from the pink-haired boy since Michael had driven him home but Luke felt starved of his presence. He spent much more time than he should have tousling his hair to perfection Tuesday morning, almost making himself late for school. It was all worth it though when Michael walked into the community center that night at 6 o’clock sharp.

“Hey,” Michael grinned. “Are you doing anything right now?”

“I don’t think I’ve got any plans,” Luke replied, carrying an amp towards the storage room with Michael on his heels. “I’ve just got to finish putting away the gear and then I’m free.”

“Great,” Michael said, grabbing an amp and lugging it towards the back room.

“What are you doing?” Luke asked, watching him for a moment, a guitar in each hand.

“I’m helping,” Michael told him matter-of-factly, calling over his shoulder, “C’mon Katie, grab a guitar.”

In no time at all with the help of the brother and sister, Luke had gotten everything completely packed away.

“Thanks,” he said, locking up the storage room door. “That was really nice of you guys to help out.”

“Anytime,” Katie said breezily, walking towards the door of the community center.

Luke let out a surprised laugh, watching as Michael swept behind her and attacked her sides with his fingers, sending her into a fit of giggles.

“Stop! Stop!” she screamed, laughing as he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, running out towards his car with Luke trailing behind. “Luke! Help!”

“Sorry, Katie,” Luke laughed. “He’s too strong. I’m no match for him.”

Michael tore open the car door and let the little girl fall into her carseat. Although his actions gave the appearance of chaos, Luke could see the care he took to keep Katie safe. Luke knew his face was turning to a goopy sappy grin but there was nothing he could do to stop it, or to combat the butterflies in his stomach when Michael turned to him with an expectant smirk, holding the passenger door open.

“So what are we doing?” Luke asked once they’d started driving.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that, didn’t I?” Michael asked sheepishly. “I promised Katie I’d take her to the playground by our house and I figured you might want to come.”

Luke nodded, smiling and leaning back to poke Katie’s cheek, making her giggle.

As soon as they arrived Katie was off, running towards the jungle gym and leaving Michael and Luke in a daze behind her. Michael took Luke’s hand gently in his own and tugged the other boy towards a bench facing the playground. Luke tentatively laced their fingers together so that they stayed linked once they’d sat down. Luke was sure he’d never felt a nicer hand than Michael’s, as weird as that sounded. He melted a bit inside when Michael’s thumb began to rub soft circles against his knuckle, warmth spreading up his arm and straight to his chest.

Luke realized that he’d been holding his breath ever since Michael’s fingers had first brushed his, and he let out a slightly shaky breath.

“Is this okay?” Michael asked softly.

“Yeah,” Luke whispered back, shyly meeting Michael’s eyes and blushing. The pair sat in a comfortable silence, watching Katie race around the playground with the other kids until the sun was low in the sky.

“Katie,” Michael called, squeezing Luke’s fingers lightly. “It’s getting late. I’ve got to get you home, bug.”

Katie grumbled a bit but joined them at the edge of the playground.

“How ‘bout we just walk back to the house,” Michael suggested, holding Katie on his hip with one arm, his other hand still holding Luke’s. “It’s nice out.”

“What about your car?” Luke asked.

“Eh,” Michael shrugged and offered Luke a quick wink that sent a shiver down his spine. “We can get it later.”

 

By the time Luke and Michael arrived back at the playground the sun was just setting and all of the kids that had been playing were safe back in their homes. Luke darted towards the play equipment, taking the steps of the jungle gym two at a time until he was on the highest level, looking back at a fondly smiling Michael.

“C’mon,” Luke said, climbing up to sit on the little plastic roof that hung over the structure. He crossed his legs and looked expectantly at Michael when the other boy reached his side. Luke patted the space beside him and smiled.

“We’re gonna break this fucking thing.” Michael shook his head but swung his leg up to join Luke. Luke giggled, making Michael smile.

“You never curse when Katie’s around,” Luke said, tugging absentmindedly on his lip ring.

“I know,” Michael told him. “It’s the worst part of younger siblings.”

“I’ve only ever had older siblings,” Luke mused. “My brothers were pretty much where I learned curse words, so I never really had to censor myself.”

“I like having a little sister, even if it’s annoying sometimes,” Michael smiled. “I remember when I was a kid, before she was born, I always wanted a sibling. It seemed cool to always have a friend around and when Katie was born all I wanted to do was help take care of her.”

“That’s sweet,” Luke said, pulling Michael’s hand into his lap and playing with his fingers while he talked.

“I think I was the only kid in Year 5 who could change a diaper and ready a bottle with no trouble,” Michael laughed. “I think I liked feeling important.”

“That’s why I love working at the center so much,” Luke agreed. “With kids anything you do will be important to them. They’ll kind of just like you as long as you’re nice to them. It’s not like at school where you’ve gotta, like, I don’t know,  _ work _ to make people like you. And even then they still don’t.”

Luke trailed off, eyes fixed on Michael’s hand in his. Michael gingerly took Luke’s hand in his, tightening his grip and studying the other boy’s face.

“Are they mean to you?” Michael asked, a fierce protectiveness in his eyes. “Just tell me who and I’ll punch them for you.”

“You’d punch them?” Luke asked, his eyes brightening with a laugh.

“Well, maybe not,” Michael conceded. “But I’d get Calum to do it for me, then I’d tell you it was me so I could pretend to be all heroic.”

Luke giggled but soon turned somber again.

“They’re not  _ mean _ ,” he said. “They just don’t, like, talk to me. But it’s okay. I’ve got the kids.”

“And you’ve got me,” Michael told him, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Yeah,” Luke smiled. “I’ve got you.”

Suddenly Luke tore his eyes away from Michael’s to look up at the sky, gasping excitedly and pointing.

“Look! It’s the same color as your hair!”

Michael chuckled, looking up and seeing the pale pink that spread across the sky, dipping into a vibrant blood orange color on the horizon and bordered by deep violet as the night sky moved in.

“It’s so pretty,” Luke breathed, craning his neck to try and see all of it. “Dye your hair like that next time.”

“Like which color?” Michael asked, his eyes flitting over the array of colors washed above them.

“All of them,” Luke giggled lightheartedly. Michael was more focused on how the light turned Luke’s skin a beautiful golden color, reflecting in his eyes like the entire universe was right there in front of him.

“Here,” Michael said, sliding down from the rooftop and offering his hand to Luke. “You’ll hurt your neck holding it like that.”

He lead the blond boy to a pair of plastic red slides, sitting at the top of one and waiting for Luke to sit at the other to slide down to the bottom. Michael leaned back against the plastic, stretching his legs out in front of him and reaching over the divide between the slides to hold Luke’s hand again. Together they sat in comfortable silence as the sun dipped lower and lower over the horizon and stars began to appear one by one, Luke’s eyes trained on the sky and Michael’s unable to look away from the boy beside him.

When the sky had gone completely to night and the boys could see only by the light of the moon and the street lights in the distance, Michael propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at Luke hesitantly.

“Hey, Luke?” Michael whispered.

“Yeah, Mikey?” Luke said, blinking owlishly.

“Could I kiss you?”

“Yeah,” Luke said, a soft smile tugging at his lips. Michael gently cupped one hand against Luke’s cheek, pulling him in to press their lips together in a chaste kiss. When Luke leaned forward into the kiss Michael deepened it, moving his hand back to tangle his fingers in Luke’s hair. Before long both of their necks were cramped from leaning over the divide between their slides. Luke let out a soft whine when Michael disconnected their lips.

“Here, baby,” he murmured, hooking an arm under Luke’s waist and pulling him sideways to sit across his lap, cradling him gently. He pressed lips against Luke’s again until they were both out of breath and feeling sleepy. Luke tucked his head under Michael’s chin, his eyes slipping shut.

“I really like you,” Michael whispered conspiratorially.

“I like you too,” Luke whispered back, pressing his lips against Michael’s neck.

“What are we gonna tell my sister?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *btw I'm planning to write more of this but I'm sick right now and I have to write an essay for English so I probably won't be able to work on it for a few days at least*


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back! Sorry that this chapter took so long but here you go :)

“Hey,” Michael greeted, swooping in behind Luke to grab an amp in each hand and place a sneaky kiss on the blond boy’s cheek as he passed. It had been two weeks since they’d watched the sunset at the playground and they had been nearly inseparable ever since.

“Hi,” Luke grinned, following him to the storage room with his own load of equipment. “Don’t you have to get Katie home?”

“I told you,” Michael said, setting down the amps and turning back to the other boy. “Katie doesn’t mind being held up a few more minutes and neither do I. If I could I’d spend forever stacking amps with you.”

“Shut up,” Luke muttered, busying himself with straightening a row of guitars to hide his blush.

“Are you doing anything on Friday?” Michael asked, heading back for more equipment.

“I’m free after 6,” Luke said, following him.

“Do you want to come over? I’ve got band practice with the guys but we’ll probably be done by then. I figured we could all hang out, if you want.”

“That sounds cool,” Luke smiled.

“Cool,” Michael replied, grinning. The two were caught up in eachothers’ eyes but were interrupted when Katie came running at them, shrieking and flinging herself up into Michael’s arms. “I think that’s my que to go,” he laughed.

“See you on Friday,” Luke said, waving at the siblings as they left.

 

“Luke!” Katie squealed when she opened the door for him Friday evening.

“Hey, Katie,” he smiled, letting her grab onto his arm and climb up his side. “Do you know where Mikey is?”

“He’s in the garage with his band,” Katie said, spider-monkeying onto his back.

“D’you think you can lead me there?” he asked. In response she thrust her arm forward purposefully, pointing down a hallway to a door on his left. Luke galloped towards the door, following her direction down a short flight of stairs to another door. When he opened it he found a modest rehearsal space with Ashton behind a drumkit and Calum leaning against a worn bass amp. Beside him stood Michael, guitar hanging comfortably from his shoulders.

“Hey,” Calum grinned mischievously.

“Hi,” Luke said cautiously, letting Katie slide down to the floor and run back up the stairs.

“Hey, Luke,” Michael smiled, slinging off his guitar and leaning it against his own amp.

“Michael,” Calum called. “Don’t you want to play something for Luke before we unplug everything?”

“What?” Michael said. “No. Not- uh, not right now.”

“Really?” Calum said, looking to Luke. “Michael wrote a new song.”

“No I didn’t,” Michael shook his head.

“Michael, don’t lie,” Calum chastised playfully. “He’s so modest. It’s a really good song. I think Luke should listen to it.”

“Calum,” Michael whined, “Shut up.”

“He’s got the lyrics all written up and everything,” Calum grinned, shoving a stack of scribbled-on papers into Luke’s hands. Luke was barely able to make out the title, “Long Way Home,” scratched across the top before Michael had ripped the papers out of his hands.

“Sorry,” Michael told him, sending him a sheepish look before shoving the papers behind his amp.

“Um,” Luke said, looking around the room unsure of what to say.

“Calum,” Ashton chastised, coming to stand beside Luke. “You freaked him out.”

“No I didn’t,” Calum declared. “He’s just in awe of what a cool supportive friend I am.”

“Sorry about him,” Ashton said, offering Luke an apologetic smile. “We were gonna order pizza in a minute.”

“Oh cool,” Luke said, following when Ashton started up the stairs. “I just got done at the community center.”

“Oh yeah,” Ashton smiled, entering Michael’s kitchen and pulling open the fridge as if it were his own house. “Michael said you taught kids guitar there.”

“Yeah,” Luke nodded, accepting the can of soda that Ashton offered him. He and the curly haired boy made easy conversation for a few more minutes until Michael and Calum finally joined them, both of their hair messy as if they’d been fighting and Michael’s cheeks a bright red.

“Hey, babe,” Calum grinned, stealing Ashton’s drink and kissing him quickly on the cheek before taking a sip.

“I’m gonna go order the pizza really quick,” Michael told them, glaring at Calum threateningly as he left. “Calum’s not allowed to talk to Luke while I’m gone-- Actually, Calum’s not allowed to talk to Luke for forever.”

“But-!” Calum started to protest.

“Nope!” Michael yelled as he disappeared from the doorway.

Before long the four boys were piled up around stacks of empty pizza boxes, laughing and joking and completely ignoring the movie that someone had put on when the pizza arrived. Luke’s cheeks were sore from smiling so much, more than he thought he must have in years. He was ecstatic to find that talking with Ashton and even Calum came almost as easy as talking with Michael did. He felt that he’d fallen easily into their group and he felt like the other boys had accepted him more quickly than anyone else ever had. It was just as simple as talking with the kids, but they were his peers and it was more satisfying almost, that they had accepted him.

“It’s getting late,” Ashton announced long after the sun had set outside, sitting up and stretching out his back.

“He’s right,” Calum grumbled, slowly standing up. “We’ve got to get going.”

“I’ve got to put Katie to bed,” Michael agreed, standing up and offering his hand to Luke to pull him to his feet.

“Why don’t you two go up there and Luke can say goodbye to Katie?” Ashton suggested.

“Sure,” Luke chirped, looking to Michael expectantly.

“We’ll wait here and we can give Luke a ride home when you guys are finished,” Ashton told him.

“You don’t have to do that,” Michael said. “You guys can go ahead and I’ll drive Luke home when we’re done.”

“Are you sure?” Luke asked, “I can just-”

“Okay, have fun!” Calum grinned, sending Michael a pointed look and pulling Ashton towards the door. “Bye guys!”

“Bye,” Luke and Michael called after them.

“You don’t have to drive me home,” Luke said as they walked up the stairs towards Katie’s room.

“I just didn’t want to leave Calum alone with you for the whole drive home,” Michael joked.

“He’s not that bad,” Luke grinned.

“He’s horrible,” Michael shook his head. “I swear, if he hadn’t been my best friend since Kindergarten...”

When they opened the little girl’s door she was sitting at the end of a pink-dappled bed, holding a small acoustic guitar in her lap and lightly strumming.

“Good to see you practicing,” Luke smiled, making her turn to him excitedly.

“Luke’s still here!” she exclaimed, setting the guitar next to her bed and bouncing on the mattress.

“Time for bed, bug,” Michael said sternly, going beside her bed to pull back the blankets.

“But I want to hang out with Luke,” she pouted. “I barely got to see him all night because you were hogging him!”

“Luke has to go soon," Michael said. "It’s late and he needs to go to bed, just like you.”

"Mikey," Katie whined, glaring playfully at him before brightening with an idea. “Luke should sleep over! He could sleep in my room and then we could hang out all day tomorrow! Please?”

“Katie,” Michael sighed.

“Please please please?” she begged, turning to Luke. “Please, Luke? We could make pancakes tomorrow morning and it’d be really super fun!”

“I mean,” Luke said, looking tentatively to Michael. “I don’t mind.”

Michael thought it over for a moment before addressing Katie, “If Luke sleeps over will you promise to actually go to bed?”

“It depends,” Katie said. “Will you both sing me my bedtime song?”

“Bedtime songs are for special occasions only,” Michael reminded her, to Luke’s amusement.

“This is a special occasion,” Katie replied. “Luke’s sleeping over!”

“Fine,” Michael grumbled, darting out of the room for only a moment before returning with an acoustic guitar of his own. Luke picked up Katie’s smaller one, discarded at his feet, and held it to his chest, making Michael smile. Michael sent Katie a stern look and pointed to the head of her bed. She grumbled a bit but climbed into her bed, resting against the pillows and looking expectantly at the two boys before her.

“What are we supposed to play?” Luke asked Michael, who just shrugged.

“I dunno, just play whatever you want.”

Luke thought for a moment, absentmindedly plucking at the strings until he began to form a familiar melody. Michael smiled in recognition and began to play the chords along with him. 

“ _ If all our life is but a dream _ ,” Luke began to sing softly. “ _ Fantastic posing greed then we should feed our jewelry to the sea, for diamonds do appear to be just like broken glass to me. _ ”

Michael continued to strum but his eyes were fixed on Luke, watching him in awe as he sang. Luke’s voice was like honey, sweet and warm as he crooned out the words. Luke continued to play, oblivious to Michael’s wonder.

“ _ Hey moon, please forget to fall down, _ ” Luke sang, looking up and smiling when he heard Michael’s voice join his on the next lines.

“ _ Hey moon, don’t you go down. Sugarcane in the easy mornin’, weathervanes my one and lonely, _ ” the boys sang together, their voices melding together sweetly. As they continued the song they found it nearly impossible to look anywhere but eachother’s eyes, green and blue combining as beautifully as their voices.

When the song finally came to a close they remained in silence for a few long moments, unwilling to pull away from the bubble they had created for themselves. It was Luke who remembered that they had been playing for an audience and turned to see the peacefully sleeping little girl beside them.

“It worked,” he whispered, smiling.

“C’mon,” Michael said, reaching over to turn off the bedside lamp and plunge them into murky semi-darkness, lit only by a small nightlight by the door. They made their way silently out of the room and Luke followed Michael into the room next door. Luke looked around at the band posters that covered the walls, walking slowly through the room and taking everything in. Michael opened a door and turned on the light to reveal a small bathroom, opening a cabinet and rooting around before pulling out a spare toothbrush and offering it to Luke.

“Thanks,” Luke said, taking it and standing beside Michael in front of the sink. The pair got ready for bed in a comfortable silence, occasionally breaking it for a remark or two to make the other laugh until they were falling into Michael’s bed in their t-shirts and boxers.

“You have a nice voice,” Michael whispered, looking up at the dark ceiling.

“So do you.” Luke turned on his side to face the other boy. Michael snaked an arm around Luke, pulling him against his side and turning his head to press a warm kiss against Luke’s head.

“Thank you, baby,” he whispered into Luke’s messy blond hair. Luke wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist and burrowed his head into the pink-haired boy’s chest, sighing contentedly.

“Goodnight, Mikey,” he said into the other boy’s shirt, his fingers twisting in the fabric.

“Goodnight, Luke.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they sang is Northern Downpour by Panic! at the Disco btw and now I really want them to cover it because I feel like their voices would sound really pretty on that song


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a little while since I last updated so here is a quick refresher so you don't have to go back if you don't want to:  
> In the last chapter Luke went over to Michael's house and became friends with Calum and Ashton then he stayed to help Michael put Katie to bed and the chapter ended with them falling asleep together.

When Luke woke up there was warm early morning light filtering in through the curtains over Michael's windows, giving everything in the room a soft peachy glow. Luke’s head was pillowed into the crook of Michael’s arm, whose fingers were still tangled in Luke’s hair. The blond boy stretched out his arms a bit then relaxed back into his embrace with Michael, dragging his fingers sleepily over the soft curve of the other boy’s stomach and the dip of his waist. His touches were soft and tentative, not yet sure what he was allowed to do, but he grew more confident when he heard a low humming sound and Michael turned slightly, opening for Luke to do as he pleased. A glance at Michael’s face showed that his eyes were still closed but he wore a small content smile.

Luke dipped his fingers under the hem of the loose t-shirt Michael was wearing and inched it slowly up, revealing soft pale skin in it’s wake. He continued to flick his eyes up to look for any sign to stop but was met with none. Instead, Michael’s fingers resumed the lazy carding they’d been doing through Luke’s hair the night before as they fell asleep and Luke let his head fall to rest against Michael’s shoulder.

When Michael’s shirt was rucked halfway up his abdomen to leave a portion of his stomach and one hip bare, turning rosy in the morning light, Luke continued his soft touches and caresses. He decided then that if he could he’d give every inch of Michael’s body the same treatment, but for that moment he’d settle on a few square inches of the boy’s abdomen.

Luke watched the pink-haired boy’s chest rise and fall with each breath as his own came to synchronise, even their heartbeats matching up. When he splayed out his fingers across Michael’s belly he could feel every little movement that came through the boy, every little flutter of breath and the small twitch that went out when he swallowed. He felt more than heard the light grumble that Michael’s stomach gave after a few minutes.

“C’mon,” Michael smiled, watching Luke fondly. “We should probably get started on breakfast. Katie’ll be up soon and I believe she promised you pancakes last night.”

“Okay,” Luke agreed halfheartedly, hesitant to leave the warmth and comfort of Michael’s bed. Michael stood first, pulling Luke’s nearly limp body up beside him and leading him back to the kitchen. Luke perched on the counter, watching Michael pull out ingredients and supplies. While Michael started measuring out flour Luke pulled a cutting board and a box of strawberries towards himself and started cutting up the fruit. He popped a few in his mouth as he went and before long his lips were pink-stained and sweet.

Luke pushed himself to the floor and crept behind Michael who was whisking the pancake batter in a bowl. Luke slid his arms around Michael’s waist and curled himself around the other boy, laying ticklish kisses into the crook of his neck.

“You’re cuddly this morning, aren’t you?” Michael mused, giggling as Luke nuzzled his nose against the nape of his neck.

“I’m always cuddly,” Luke told him sleepily, “I just don’t have anyone to cuddle usually.”

“Well, you can feel free to cuddle me any time you want,” Michael said, pouring a bit of batter into a pan and linking his and Luke’s fingers, leaning back into his touch.

“I hope you don’t mind having someone attached to you 24-7 then because I’ll take you up on that offer,” Luke laughed, slipping back to return to his perch on the countertop, popping another strawberry into his mouth.

“Have you ever  _ met _ Katie?” Michael asked, raising an eyebrow and grabbing a strawberry for himself. “I’m used to it.”

“Good,” Luke said, looking shyly at Michael through his lashes when the other boy stepped closer to the counter.

“Good,” Michael repeated, resting his hands against Luke’s thighs and stepping close enough that their noses brushed together. Luke slid his arms around Michael’s neck to hold him close.

“Yeah,” Luke whispered, not quite remembering what it was they’d been discussing.

“Mhmm,” Michael nodded before connecting their lips.

“Michael!” came the loud shriek from the doorway less than a minute later.

“Yes?” Michael cringed, pulling back and turning towards his little sister sheepishly.

“Stop kissing my fiancé!”

“Um,” Michael said, busying himself with flipping the pancake that was still cooking on the stove and trying to decide how to explain to his sister that Luke might not be marrying her afterall. “We’re making pancakes?”

“Luke,” Katie said, looking at the furiously blushing boy skeptically. “Did Michael cast a spell on you to make you kiss him?”

“No,” Luke laughed, shaking his head. “Sorry.”

“Katie,” Michael knelt down to be at her height. “Remember when Ashton and Calum started dating and you couldn’t marry either of them anymore?”

Katie nodded then looked between the two boys, her eyes narrowing as she realised the similarities in the situation.

“Not again!” she cried. “Why does this always happen?”

“Sorry, Katie,” Luke said again, hopping down from the counter to scoop her up into his arms. “I promise someday you’ll find somebody who’s more than happy to be your fiancé- one who’s actually into girls. Until then there’s always pancakes.”

“Pancakes will always love me,” she agreed seriously, reaching out for the plate in Michael’s hand.

“Here you go,” Michael handed off the plate and poured the next round of batter into the pan.

Katie grabbed a handful of strawberries and slipped out of Luke’s grasp, running from the room.

“That went surprisingly well,” Michael said, wrapping an arm around Luke’s waist.

“I’m a little hurt she didn’t try harder to win me back,” Luke pouted.

“What, do you want me to fight my little sister for your heart?” Michael laughed.

“It might have been a sweet gesture,” Luke said, hiding his smile in Michael’s neck.

“I promise the next time someone proposes to you I’ll be right there to challenge them to a duel,” Michael told him fondly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the last chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who's read this and to everyone that's commented! I hope you like the ending :)

When the community center’s spring guitar classes finished, leaving Luke free until mid-June when they would start up again for the summer, he and Michael had been officially dating for three months. ‘Officially’ meaning that Katie now knew and had begrudgingly given her blessing. Luke couldn’t help but smile when he got a text from Michael asking if he and Katie could pick Luke up after school.

Luke was surprised when he slid into Michael’s car that afternoon and looked back to see not only Katie in her carseat but Ashton and Calum sitting on either side of her.

“Hey, Luke,” Calum greeted Luke cheerfully once Michael had finished kissing him hello. Ashton smiled brightly and waved, while Katie flailed her arm in a sloppy but excited attempt to mirror him.

“Hey, guys,” Luke grinned, happy to be surrounded by all the people he loved. “Where are we going?”

“Ice cream!” Katie told him enthusiastically.

“It’s so hot out,” Calum explained, “and with finals this week we figured we all deserve a treat.”

“ _ You _ figured,” Michael muttered good naturedly, adjusting the beanie covering his hair. “These two hijacked my plan to take you out and then I couldn’t let them come and not bring Katie. So, here we all are.”

“I’m glad you’re all here,” Luke smiled. “I haven’t gotten to see our young guitar prodigy here since classes ended and I haven’t seen Ashy and Cal since your guys’ last show.”

“Aww,” Calum cooed, reaching forward to pinch Luke’s cheek. “Did’ya miss us, Lukey?”

“Shut up,” Luke whined, shoving Calum away. “I take it back, I never want to see any of you again.”

“Except for me,” Katie added.

“Except for Katie,” Luke agreed, giggling.

Before long they were all clutching dripping ice cream cones, trying to keep the melting treats from getting everywhere and ending up with their chins and noses covered in ice cream. Calum ended up wiping a small puddle of the mess off of his fingers and into Ashton’s hair, making the older boy screech and shove the rest of his ice cream cone straight into Calum’s face, inciting a small ice cream war that left all five of them covered in half-melted ice cream. Ashton and Calum broke off from the group to go back to Ashton’s house to get cleaned up and Michael agreed to bring Luke back to his and Katie’s house to get cleaned up themselves.

Once they were in clean clothes and they’d wiped most of the dried ice cream from their arms and faces Michael took Luke by the hand and pulled him out the door, walking down the street as the sun sank down towards the horizon behind them. When they reached the playground down the street they both immediately made the climb to what had become their spot at the height of the play equipment, overlooking the whole neighborhood and offering an unobstructed view of the sunset.

“It’s almost summer,” Luke mused, resting his head against Michael's shoulder and swinging his feet off the edge of the overhang.

“Yeah,” Michael nodded. “You excited?”

“Yeah,” Luke said hesitantly, pausing as though deciding whether or not to continue. “And nervous.”

“What’re you nervous about, baby?”

“I dunno, just... We’ll be seniors next year.”

“Yeah,” Michael said, wrapping his arms around Luke’s waist and pulling him closer. “And then we’ll graduate and we can do whatever we want.”

“Yeah,” Luke agreed halfheartedly.

“What do you want to do?”

“I dunno,” Luke shrugged. “I’ll probably go to college, maybe teach music or something. I like kids and I like-”

“But what do you  _ want _ to do?” Michael interrupted. “If you could do anything.”

“Music,” Luke said, softly but surely. “You know I’d play music if I could but I couldn’t make a career out of it.”

“Why not?” Michael asked.

“I couldn’t...”

“You could,” Michael said firmly. “You  _ can _ . Play with us.”

“With you?” Luke asked, his brows furrowing.

“With me and Ash and Cal.”

“Mikey, don’t-”

“We’ve talked about it,” Michael continued. “We’ve needed a frontperson and it’d be good to have a second guitar player. I actually brought it up to the guys right when I met you and we talked about it again at practice yesterday. We’d really like it if you joined us, Lukey.”

“Really?” Luke asked, chewing on his lip nervously.

“Of course, baby,” Michael smiled, cradling Luke’s face in his hands. “We’d be the luckiest band on Earth to have you grace us with your talent.”

“Shut up,” Luke laughed.

“Is that a yes?” Michael grinned.

“Maybe,” Luke said, but Michael noticed that he nodded his head as he leaned forward to press their lips together. As they kissed Luke worked his fingers up into the other boy’s hair, sliding the beanie off of his head in the process. When they pulled apart Luke gasped.

“You changed your hair,” he said, surprised.

“Yeah,” Michael said shyly, tilting his head down and letting Luke examine the new colors.

Most of his hair was just a refreshed version of the light pink he’d done just after they met, but mixed into that were swirls of a rich blood orange and underneath it all Luke could see hints of a vibrant violet at the base of his neck.

“It’s so pretty, Mikey,” Luke breathed, stroking his fingers through Michael’s hair reverently. “It’s just like the sky.”

“Yeah,” Michael smiled. “The first night I kissed you you were so amazed by the sunset and all I could see was the beautiful boy next to me. You asked me to do my hair like the sunset so I did.”

“I love it,” Luke said, mesmerized by the way that Michael seemed to be a part of the almost violently bright stretch of sky behind him.

“I love  _ you _ ,” Michael countered, making Luke’s eyes snap back to meet his.

“I love you too,” Luke said, feeling as though his heart was truly filled to the brim with love. Michael pulled him close and together they watched the sun disappear behind the horizon.

  
It wasn’t until years later that Katie demanded Michael dye his hair silver to match the ring on Luke’s left hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to find a reference picture for Michael's hair at the end but I couldn't find one I liked so I did a super quick edit of him with the colors I pictured that you can find here if you want to see how I pictured it :)  
> http://moz-direction.tumblr.com/post/144677416487/shitty-half-assed-sunset-hair-michael-edit-used-as


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